LAS VEGAS — Tomas Hertl, leading the Vegas Golden Knights with 31 goals this season, will be sidelined for the team’s upcoming three-game road tour due to an injury sustained in Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Golden Knights’ general manager, Kelly McCrimmon, shared this update during the VGK Insiders Show on Monday. The team is scheduled to play against Minnesota on Tuesday night, followed by games in Chicago on Friday and Nashville on Saturday.
“He’ll undergo further medical evaluations,” McCrimmon mentioned. “He went through some today, and another round is scheduled for tomorrow to accurately diagnose his condition, but he will not be able to join us on this trip.”
Hertl has been in excellent form recently, netting four goals in his last two games. This includes a hat trick performance during Saturday’s 6-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Over his last eight games, he has recorded two hat tricks, accumulating seven goals and three assists in that time.
Hertl’s 59 points put him in third place on the scoring chart for the team, following Jack Eichel, who has set a new club record with 87 points in a single season, and Mark Stone with 61 points.
The injury occurred when Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg pushed Hertl into the boards, for which he received a two-minute penalty for boarding instead of a more severe five-minute major penalty.
Golden Knights’ coach, Bruce Cassidy, commented on the incident, saying, “A guy like Lilleberg, whom I’m not very familiar with, is likely trying to make a mark in the league. But that hit seemed needless to me, especially when a player is in a vulnerable position and not posing a significant threat.”